Over 86% students clear Madhyamik, CM congratulates

Kolkata: The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) declared the Madhyamik 2025 results on Friday, with the overall pass percentage showing a marginal increase to 86.56 per cent, up from 86.31 per cent in 2024. East Midnapore district topped the state with an impressive 96.46 per cent success rate.

A total of 9,69,425 students appeared for the examination, held from February 10 to 22. Among them were 4,25,881 boys and 5,43,544 girls. The pass percentage was calculated based on 9,13,883 regular candidates, of whom 7,91,088 passed. Boys outperformed girls with an 89.91 per cent pass rate, compared to 84.39 per cent for girls.

Adrita Sarkar of Raiganj Coronation High School, North Dinajpur, topped the state with 696 marks (99.43 per cent). Anubhab Biswas of Ramkrishna Mission Vivekananda Vidyamandir, Malda, and Soumya Pal of Bishnupur High School, Bankura, jointly secured second place with 694 marks (99.14 per cent). Third place was bagged by Ishani Chakraborty of Kotulpur Saroj Basini Balika Vidyalaya, Bankura, the highest-scoring female student, with 693 marks (99 per cent).

Bankura led the merit list with 11 students in the top ranks, followed by East Midnapore, Birbhum and Malda (7 each), and Hooghly and East Burdwan (6 each). Kolkata had only one candidate in the top 10, Abantika Roy from Ramkrishna Sarada Mission Sister Nivedita Girls’ School, who secured the eighth rank with 688 marks (98.29 per cent).

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee congratulated students, families, and teachers in a post on X (formerly Twitter). “My heartfelt congratulations to all students who passed this year’s Madhyamik Examination! I hope you continue to achieve greater success in the future. To those who didn’t perform well this time—don’t lose hope. Keep trying; success will surely come. My blessings and best wishes to all of you. Stay well,” she wrote.

Education minister Bratya Basu also extended his greetings, writing: “My heartfelt congratulations to all successful students. I hope you shine in every field of life, make Bengal proud and continue to achieve excellence in the future.”

Kalimpong came second in the district rankings with a 96.09 per cent pass rate, followed by Kolkata (92.30 per cent) and West Midnapore (90.52 per cent). Despite girls outnumbering boys in overall participation, the top merit list reflected a gender imbalance, with only 12 girls among the top 66.

Students with special needs (CWSN) recorded a 75.35 per cent pass rate. Among Scheduled Caste candidates, the success rate was 84.03 per cent and among Scheduled Tribe candidates, it was 74.30 per cent.

In grade distribution, 10,659 students secured AA (90-100 per cent), 25,820 got A+ (80-89 per cent), and 91,237 received A (60–79 per cent). A total of 1,27,716 students (16.14 per cent) among the successful candidates scored above 60 per cent, up from 1,18,411 last year.

Subject-wise, Geography had the most AA scorers (42,526), followed by Life Science (22,840), First Language (21,046), History (20,094), Physical Science (19,915), Mathematics (17,776) and Second Language (15,962).

Despite the improvements, 1,20,881 regular candidates (13.22 per cent) were unsuccessful — a marginal improvement over 2024’s 13.47 per cent failure rate. Notably, no results were withheld this year. Twenty candidates had their exams cancelled, including 18 caught with mobile phones during the exam.

Board president Ramanuj Ganguly addressed concerns over the comparatively lower pass rate compared to boards like CISCE and CBSE, stating: “We must examine how deeply we work in remote areas. If comparisons are to be made between boards, one must also compare the demographics and locations of students.”

Ganguly also dismissed concerns over fewer students scoring high percentages, stating: “There is often a perception that our marking isn’t accurate or is too lenient. But I can assure you that our evaluation system is thorough, and over the last three years, it has only become more precise.”

Addressing concerns over the terminated Group C and D employees, Ganguly assured that students’ marksheets and certificates would be delivered without hindrance. On the potential impact of 15,403 untainted teachers being terminated post-December 31, he said the board is hopeful that next year’s results will not be adversely affected.

While the routine for the 2026 Madhyamik examination is yet to be released, Ganguly said it would be announced shortly, and the exams are likely to be held in February.